10 Facts You May Not Know About ‘Purple Rain’

In 1984, Prince released his iconic film, Purple Rain.

For those of you who have never seen the film, it follows a young musician who goes through a series of events during his rise to fame. Sadly, one year ago today (April 21), the world lost the legendary singer. However, we'll always have this wonderfully 80’s movie. According to IMDB, here are ten facts that you may not have known about the movie.

1. Every song that is featured in the movie was pre-recorded. However, when they would film a musical scene, Prince and his entire band would perform it live. This helped to make film audiences feel like they were actually viewing a live performance.

2. In the director’s commentary for the film, there was apparently three different cuts of the love scene. Each shared a different rating! There was a “G” version, a “PG” version, and then a “R” version which would go on to make it into the final cut of the film.

I see PURPLE RAIN as a concert movie rather than a feature film. The music's so powerful and were anthems of my youth #RekomenFilem

3. There was some creative differences on set! According to reports, Morris Day and Prince refused to speak to each other after the film was released. Most of their disagreements were over “creative differences.”

@ApolloniaKotero THIS PIC IS THE MOVIE PURPLE RAIN ,WITH LOVE FOR YOU OK

4. We all can remember Prince’s motorcycle in the film. However, did you know that he did most of his own bike riding? Whenever they would film a scene with him riding, a camera truck would ride next to his bike in order to get the shot.

24 Likes, 3 Comments - iTeach ?✏️?? (@tina_tina_1985) on Instagram: "? ? One of my Faaaavorite albums of all time. I can seriously listen to every song on here from..."

5. Apollonia Kotero, who plays the lead in the film, was virtually unknown before she was cast in the role. Prince saw her appear in an 1983 episode of Tales of the Gold Monkey. In the episode, Apollonia played a island girl who was having an affair with a German man. After witnessing her acting, he knew she needed to be a part of the film.

Putting in a movie in a few & going to try & wind down for bed. Just in mood for this. Lol. "Purple Rain

6. During the “Lake Minnetonka” scene, Apollonia had to deal with some rather unpleasant weather conditions. The water was extremely cols that she developed hypothermia. After four takes, Prince was concerned to shoot anymore so he switched the takes to LA. That’s why, if you look closely, there are several continuity errors in the scene.

7. In an interview with Rolling Stone, director Albert Magnoli stated that Warner Brothers wanted John Travolta to play Prince. What a mistake that would have been!

Prince's jacket from the 'Purple Rain' movie is now being auctioned https://t.co/yEkn0y6Qav

8. There were three different motorcycles that Prince used in the film. The one we all see him ride is a customized 1981 Hondamatic CB400A. However, there were two similar bikes made for the stunt riders.

9. William Blinn, who wrote the screenplay, originally wanted the movie to be called “Dreams”. When he pitched the idea to Prince, he did not approve of the title, Instead, he wanted to add in the world “purple” somewhere in the title.

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10. The first version of Prince’s symbol can be briefly spotted in this movie. The symbol can be seen painted on to the side of Prince’s motorcycle as well as on the wall in the overpass during the “When Doves Cry” scene.

Days Of Wild...November 20th 2016 Prince's Best Movie Isn't Purple Rain-It's One That's Almost Impossible to See https://t.co/7FSi3dreOn

Sarah Harley is a Hufflepuff living in the NYC area. When she is not talking to random animals or collecting stickers, she is a comedy writer working in television production. Tweet her at @lumpyspacederp